Life Story: People Are Scared Of Us, And I Don’t Know Why

“People are scared of us, and I don’t know why. Maybe because we are different, but we don’t want to be shunned the way we are all the time. We may seem scary, but we are soft at heart, we don’t want to hurt or scare anyone.”
“How did you know you were a transgender?”
“In our community, most of the time we don’t get a chance to decide for ourselves. The moment we start showing some feminine behavior or ways, the guru or the head of the transgender community takes us under her… wing and then teaches us the ways of being what we are today. It was like I didn’t have a chance to choose what I wanted to do, this was my destiny.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“Yes, I have a boyfriend, that too from outside our community. Usually on the streets people keep hitting on me and asking me for my number, but they just want to do time pass. So, when they give me their number or something, I smile, take it, and come home and tear it up. But I have one serious boyfriend and he’s a good person.”
“How do you react to peoples’ bad comments, if and when you get them?”
“People keep passing comments all the time. But how many people can you even get angry with? I just crack a joke or something and let it go. If I take all the comments seriously, I won’t be happy. But I’d still like to tell people that even though we are different from most of you, we are still humans. We, too, want to be loved and accepted just like anyone else in the world. So maybe you should think twice before insulting us.”
“What is your advice for youngsters struggling with this issue in our society?”
“Now things are much better than they were. I just want to tell them not to live life the way I’m living. We are called to dance in marriages and we roam around in the streets, so we do earn decent money, but these young people can do so much more with their life. They can study, get a job, live the life they want. I hope they have the courage to accept themselves for who they are, no matter what people say.”

My Story: I Have A Master And My Daughter Is A Graduate, We Beg At Traffic Signals To Survive

Partner Story

An Army Colonel Is Changing Lives Of Thousand Of People From North-East Using White Bullets

Retiring after spending 32 years in the Indian Army, Col Chris Rego is helping change the destinies of hundreds of children in conflict-affected North East India through his “White Bullets” initiative. With this initiative, he hopes to bring peace and progress to communities across North East India.

Luminouswanted to bring out the Colonel’s story to the world to inspire and motivate others as it believes that education is a strong tool to empower women. It is supporting Col Rego’s cause through an initiative called #Luminaries – the brave people who stand up for causes like girl child education and make a difference in the society.

Col Rego’s journey started over a decade ago in Manipur when a tribal woman knocked on his door pleading for support for her daughter’s education. Touched by the woman’s story, Col Rego and his wife delved into their savings and arranged for the money for the girl’s education. Two years down the line, the woman returned, this time with a small pumpkin and a shawl that she had knitted, and all the money she had borrowed. Moved and realizing that their money could make lives rather than earn paltry interest, Col and Mrs. Rego embarked on a journey to arrange for sponsorship of many more underprivileged children.

Retiring from the Army, Col Rego took over as CEO of Sunbird Trust, a not-for-profit organization which he founded in 2014. The Trust now sponsor over 1,000 children in 21 locations acrossNorth East India. The centre of Sunbird Trust’s activities is at beautiful Ijeirong, Manipur.

Recognizing Col Chris’s immense work, Luminousacknowledged him as their first Luminary. Through this, they hope to bring more power to his elbow in the notable work he is doing. The Luminousteam travelled to remote Ijeirong village and installed solar products. These solar products will help in providing power to the entire campus 24/7 for the very first time.

The Logical Indian salutes Col Christopher Rego for his untiring efforts and leadership. His efforts are already having a cascading effect on people from across India joining the “White Bullets” endeavour. Quite amazingly, education, in itself so empowering, is merely a means to PEACE. We hope the path illuminated by #Luminary Col Rego and his Sunbird Trust team acts as a beacon for others to follow.

If you too have stories of change, share them with us. And if you want to connect with Colonel Rego, click here.